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Driving Tourists to Lowcountry Beaches
ABC News Charleston
August 15 2008
Even during tough economic times, the sound of the surf can be enticing. A new study says Americans are still flocking to the beaches, but it also says our national treasure should be treated more like a gem.
Summer vacation. a family tradition, but this year, a little pricier than years past.
"This is the week where it goes from summer season to sport season, so every condo and house out here probably drops by about a $1,000," said David Weaver who's visiting from Michigan.
Vacationers visiting the Lowcountry have already made August one of the busiest months rental companies have ever seen. But that attraction is not exactly being capitalized on.
"This seems to be a little, maybe in Michigan, a well kept secret which I think could use probably a better effort to publicize," said Weaver.
A new study has found healthy beaches mean a healthy tourist economy for the U.S., but it also found a lack of investment in coastal infrastructure and international marketing. U.S. beaches contribute $320 billion to the U.S. economy every year.
That number is more than 25 times what National Parks bring in. Yet, the federal contribution, used to maintain beaches is less than 4 percent of the nation's annual park service budget.
"I don't know if funding the beaches is really a drop in the bucket of addressing the issues that face our economy," said Larry Schwartz of Virginia.
Though researchers have highlighted the gains millions of dollars in advertising has made for foreign countries. Should the same happen here, Lyn Mettler says the strategy is online.
"Everyone is online and I think they should invest some of their marketing dollars, less on traditional advertising and put the money towards trying new technologies," said Mettler.
She says Facebook, My Space, even trip advisor blogs are all effective ways to keep tourists coming and costs down.
The study was published in the latest edition of Shore & Beach magazine.
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